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Notes of interest from the Cornerstone agenda

Board members attending the June 19 open business session for the South East Cornerstone Public School Division received a brief outline of programs and projects lined up to celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day.

Board members attending the June 19 open business session for the South East Cornerstone Public School Division received a brief outline of programs and projects lined up to celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day.

Superintendent of Education, Aaron Hiske, provided the run-down of events and objectives during the afternoon session and those included the presentation of plaques to commemorate Treaty 2 and Treaty 4 agreements and land acknowledgment scripts for schools that can serve as starting points for future meetings and gatherings.

“This region is primarily in Treaty 4 territory, but there are schools in the Treaty 2 area and these schools identify with one another,” Hiske said.

The superintendent also noted the hiring of a treaty education and reconciliation educator for Cornerstone. He said Raquel Oberkirsh is excited to be included in the team that will develop a training model and support documents for administrators.

Hiske also noted an upcoming treaty ceremony that will feature an elder from the Ocean Man community, Peter Bigstone, who will provide some interesting additions to the program at the division’s head office.

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The new elementary school currently under construction in Weyburn will be officially known as the Legacy Park Elementary School.

The name was approved unanimously by the board following a city-wide contest. The new school is scheduled to open in September 2021.

There were more than 80 potential names submitted during the contest.

Weyburn trustee Brandon Tichkowsky, while providing the motion to accept the name, said the name embraced the fact that students in the three aging elementary school facilities in the city are soon to be included in the Legacy school and the fact it is being built next to a large community park is being acknowledged.

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Approval was granted to accept a land transfer from the Prairie Valley School Division for educational purposes that would accommodate a family wishing to have their children attend a nearby school in the South East Cornerstone School Division rather than a Prairie Valley School listed at a greater distance. The request was submitted by the Prairie Valley School Division.

On another matter, a bus transportation appeal could not be accommodated due to established board policies regarding bus routes and schedules. The board determined they would enforce the decision not to accommodate the request that was issued by Education Director, Lynn Little.

“We have the policies we set that the director has to follow,” said vice-chairwoman Carol Flynn while voting in favour of the motion to deny the appeal that was put before them by chairwoman Audrey Trombley.

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The public school board will take a summer break with no general meeting slated for July. They will reconvene for a strategic working session in late August and then a return to a formal business session schedule on September 18.  That will be one week later than what was originally scheduled.

The board also determined that a previously scheduled meeting set for November 20 will also be moved to November 26.